


Malibu 1992

by kingcoldwater



Category: T@gged (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Summer Romance, soft but sad?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-18 18:56:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20644058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingcoldwater/pseuds/kingcoldwater
Summary: Trevor comes to California for the summer of 1992 to visit his sister before he starts college, what he doesn't expect is to meet Brandon Darrow.





	Malibu 1992

It’s 1992. The mall of America just opened it’s doors, Hurricane Andrew is on it’s way to southern Florida, Bill Clinton is to become president, Batman Returns is the number one movie, and the top song of the year is Baby Got Back. In the beach town, Malibu, California there's two just out of high school kids. The boy, Brandon Darrow grew up in California, just three miles away from the beach house he's staying in with a group. He knows approximately four of them. Ash and Elisia, they've been together since 9th grade, no one’s really sure how their relationship is going, sometimes they do nothing but fight and other days they're all over each other. Sean and his girlfriend Rowan. She was born in Ohio and stayed there until she was 15, then she moved here. Her and Sean have officially been together for six months but unofficially they've been together since eleventh grade. Other then the five of them there's one more person staying in the house, Rowan’s brother from Ohio. Brandon has heard very little about him honestly. He knows Rowan and him are siblings, his name is Trevor and he’s coming to California for the summer.  
When Trevor and Brandon first meet they have a very difficult time pretending that they don't like each other from the get go. Trevor has these eyes that are two different colors and it throws Brandon off, that was the first thing Brandon noticed about him. Brandon suddenly didnt know how to use any of his limbs. They felt out of place on his body and he felt awkward, nervous even. He didnt like this at all, and he especially didnt like that Trevor seemed to be perfectly fine in this situation. In fact, the moment he walked in, following a few steps behind Rowan and Sean with just a backpack and carry on luggage being pulled behind him, he offered a huge smile, dropped his luggage, and hugged the three of them he hadn't already met. Brandon couldn't help but notice that Trevor smelled like strawberries and Brandon definitely didnt understand why he cared that he did.  
Brandon had only been in one 'relationship' in his entire 18 years. It was his best friend, when they were five. They used to run around the park together and hold hands. They had sleepovers and Brandon was happy with that. They 'dated' until they were 13 and then suddenly she got a real boyfriend. She left Brandon confused because he still thought they were dating. He never really understood the whole relationship thing. When he was left the only one not in a relationship within his friend group, he decided that he was going to brand himself the honorary third wheel, and that worked...until suddenly he was stuck wondering how this boy has literally stardust shining within his eyes.  
The California summer was hot and Brandon, who was from California, even had trouble dealing with it. The group spent most days on the beach, mostly in the ocean attempting to cool off. The ocean offered some relief but Brandon and Trevor found their fun in staying out late into the night and sleeping late into the day. Originally Brandon was to sleep on the pull out couch in the houses living room but it didnt take him long to find a home in the spot next to Trevor in the room that was supposed to belong too him alone.  
Trevor and Brandon were basically attached to the hip that summer. The two spending almost every night exploring multiple towns, such as LA and Santa Monica and at various fair grounds they found while driving along the coast. It was hard to catch the two not together. It was a classic summer love story and they loved having what seemed like their tiny secret, safe from the rest of the world. Just the two of them and their crappy instant camera that they found in a thrift shop. It was completely stress free and they had a silent agreement to not talk about the inevitable ending that grew larger over their heads with each passing day.  
Brandon found it so easy to fall in love with Trevor. Being around him was like the first warm day after a winter of nothing but cold rainy weather. He lit up every room that he walked into and somehow turned even the worst situations into the best ones. Brandon found him intoxicating and he never stopped to think about what would come of this. He also never stopped to think about how Trevor was thinking about this. He almost hoped he would somehow be able to convince the male to stay past summer, maybe even hoped the summer fling they had would last way past summer, but Trevor has been accepted to Ohio State and was very serious about going back home. He made it a point to not talk about the future at all though. Brandon didnt mind not talking about it.  
Everything came to a head in the middle of August. It’d been raining for three days straight and the group had been stuck inside playing board games, sleeping, and watching various movies. It was great until it wasn't anymore. Near the end of the third day two things happened. Elisia and Ash got into a fight. The group was hiding out in Trevor and Brandon’s room while the couple argued for the entirety of two hours. It ended with Ash slamming the front door on his way out and Elisia telling him to not come back, right before slamming the bedroom door. When it was finally silent for longer than a minute Trevor decided to finally speak up. Brandon wasn't sure what convinced him to bring it up at that very moment, when he was laying across the bed, his head on Brandons lap, him sitting up with his back against the wall, playing with his hair and Rowan and Sean sitting in a chair on the other side of the room, Rowan on Sean’s lap.  
"I’m going home...on Tuesday." Trevor says, and there was a long silence after. It took Brandon a few moments to realize what he was actually saying. One to understand that he was going home, and going soon. And two, it was currently Saturday, which meant they had four days. Four days until this was probably over. Long distance wasn't a thing they could consider. Ohio was exactly 2,241 miles away from LA, that was too far for a summer romance to last.  
The rest of those four days happened in a sort of flash. Sean and Rowan were quick to leave the room after that, and they were right to. Brandon and Trevor talked late into the night. They didn’t end up going to bed until after five am. They talked about why Trevor can't stay, about why Brandon cant go to Ohio, and about what that meant for them. Trevor was first to cry, but honestly, Brandon wasn't far behind. What they had was short lived but it was very, very real to both of them. What they had in three months, some people never get in their whole lives. Brandon was sure he would never get it again.  
The next day they slept until after three pm. When they got up they went to a diner close to their house, still in their pajamas and this time, they were silent. They sipped coffee and ate pancakes and were just together. There was a sort of sad underlaying mist to every breath they took. Neither of them wanted for what they had to end, and they definitely didnt want to forget. When they get back to the house, they spent the rest of the day packing and just laying in bed together. It’s sad but it was nice, and something the two will definitely miss come Tuesday.  
When Tuesday does eventually roll around, Brandon and Trevor spend the entire night before awake, just sharing every last second they can together. That morning they sit on the back porch, sipping coffee and watching the water until it’s time to go. They hold hands the entire drive to the airport, then spend a good ten minutes just in each others arms, not moving away from each other. Brandon doesn't know if he even can pull away, it ends up being Trevor who does first. Trevor steps back from Brandon and looks over his face, tears in both of their eyes.  
"I'll miss you Brandon..and I promise..I won't forget this summer." Trevor says, before leaning in and giving him one last kiss, then turning and walking away. His backpack on his back and his suitcase being pulled behind him. It wasn't long before he was completely out of view. It took everything in Brandon not to chase after him, get down on his knees, and beg him to stay. He wasn't sure it would even work but he also wasn't against trying.  
He eventually builds up the strength to drive. He doesn't make it far though, parking behind the airport and sitting on the hood of the car, knees pulled to his chest as he watches the airplanes pull off and fly away. They were loud and nearly drowned out the music coming from the car radio. He stays there until he’s sure Trevor’s gone, and even then he has trouble getting his legs to move. They're like jelly underneath him. He’s sure that if he gets up, he'll fall right to the ground and melt like a popsicle under the summer sun. The heat was every much like it had been all summer, nearly unbearable. It takes him biting down on his tongue until he feels pain, and tastes blood to finally get it into himself that he needs to get in his car and go home.  
Trevor never did come back after that summer. Him and Brandon called each other a few times after that but then he got busy with school and eventually the calls stopped completely. The first call Brandon got from him was the day after he got home. Trevor told him how the flight went well, and how in the three short months he was gone his mom had already moved a treadmill into his room, but he didnt mind because he would be moving into his dorm in a week anyway. Trevor explained how much he missed Brandon, their friends, and California. Most of the calls were like that, them talking about how things were going on their sides of the countries and Brandon couldn't help but miss Trevor and still want him, now more than ever.  
Eventually Brandon realizes they're officially over. It’s December by then, and Brandon, Sean, and Rowan are in Malibu shopping for Christmas. Its a terrible idea really, everything is way too expensive. But Rowan has expensive taste and likes to window shop. Brandon takes any chance he can to get out of the house, especially because Elisia and Ash had been officially broken up for three months. Rooming with Ash had never been worse. He felt for his best friend, really, but he was trying to mend his own heart and Ash’s heartbreak didnt help at all.  
Brandon had been good about not asking about Trevor, but Malibu was their stomping ground and they’d been close to the house they stayed at the past summer. Brandon had come across the piece of sidewalk cement that they traced their names into. Now he was just missing him extra hard.  
"So, Rowan...have you heard from Trevor lately?" Brandon asks, almost not even realizing what he’s doing until the words are already gone from his lips and it’s too late. There's a long pause, but Brandon doesn't see why because he’s staring hard at his shoes. He doesn't see the shared look of disappointment on his two friend’s faces.  
"Uh, yeah. I talked to him today actually.. he's good" Rowan eventually says. "He really likes college...a lot of new friends there.." she adds after a moment. Rowan didn’t want to hurt Brandon’s feelings, and Brandon didn't need to hear the rest to understand. Trevor had moved on. Trevor didn't care about Brandon anymore and now, only three months later he’d been completely cut out of his life, left behind in the memories of summer heat. He wondered if Trevor ever waited by the phone like he has every night since he left. Or if he ever spends his time going through half of their pictures he brought home with him, because he knows he has almost every night since that Tuesday morning. He wondered if he thinks Brandon has outgrown him, moved on, and stopped thinking about him. Brandon knew he would never stop thinking about the boy with different colored eyes and and sunshine in his smile.

20 years later life is very, very different than it was that summer. Brandon had eventually sort of moved on, but never actually forgotten about Trevor. It would be a lie if he said that somewhere deep down he didn’t still want him. In those twenty years he’d actually gained a lot of popularity with his acting career. He now spent most of his time working. Ash and Elisia eventually got back together and got married. They now have two kids and a big house, not too far from Brandon and Trevors old stomping ground. In fact, it was only a block from where his name was carved into the pavement next to Trevor’s. He often drove by it on the way to his best friend’s house. Sean married a nice girl from LA and Rowan moved back to Ohio. Brandon now had absolutely no contact with anyone who knows Trevor.  
Brandon couldn't lie. With the recent boom in social media popularity he’d looked Trevor up, and he found him. It was funny because Trevor already followed Brandon on Instagram. He was still as attractive as the day they met, but time had matured him slightly, not much though. Trevor was married with a kid and seemed to have the white picket fence life he told brandon he never wanted. He wondered if it made him happy despite him telling Brandon it never would.  
Brandon didn’t follow him back for a long time, although he often checked on him. It wasn't until he was in New Jersey working one summer that he finally did. It took mere minutes for Trevor to message him.  
Brandon couldn't help but get that shaky feeling he got all those years ago, the first time they met. He was now 38, he didnt get nervous around men anymore but suddenly his limbs felt awkward again. When he finally does open the message, it’s a picture of one of the polaroids from all those years ago, with a message underneath that reads.

"I still remember, Malibu '92"


End file.
